Major Races to Watch in Tomorrow's Elections in New York State

Published: November 2, 1992

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District 14 is known as the Silk Stocking District because it comprises some of the richest areas in Manhattan. It takes in a good chunk of the East Side, stretching from Grand Street north to 106th Street and also zigzags into the West Side. The lines were redrawn this year so that the district now includes the West Side from 89th to 103d Streets; Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Astoria, Queens, and Roosevelt Island. These areas tend to be heavily Democratic, and Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district 3 to 1. The Issues

Mr. Green has a well-established reputation as a progressive Republican in the Jacob Javits mold, a persona perfectly suited to this area of monied Democrats, and in Congress he has tended to vote against the Administration more often than not. He and Ms. Maloney agree on most social issues, including abortion -- both support a woman's right to choose -- and gay rights, and both describe themselves as champions of the environment. Mr. Green disparages the City Council's work, saying that the Council has not been particularly effective, while Ms. Maloney has sought to cast her opponent as a big-spending tool of special interests who has sided with the Administration on economic matters harmful to the city. Analysis

Mr. Green is extraordinarily popular in the district and has staved off heavyweight challenges in the past from the likes of Bella Abzug, Andrew J. Stein and Carter Burden. He is also outspending Ms. Maloney more than 3 to 1 in this race. But he faces several problems this year: a possible landslide by Gov. Bill Clinton in the district; Ms. Maloney's anti-incumbency, year-of-the-woman campaign, and new district lines that have added heavily Democratic neighborhoods, where Mr. Green has little name recognition, to the district. 18TH DISTRICT: WESTCHESTER COUNTY, BRONX, QUEENS The Candidates NITA M. LOWEY, 55, Democrat. A volunteer community advocate in such organizations as the Parent-Teacher Association until 1975, when she became an official of the New York State Department of State. Served as the state's Assistant Secretary of State from 1985 to 1987. First elected to Congress in 1988 when she unseated her current opponent, Joseph J. DioGuardi, a conservative Republican who served two terms in Congress, winning election in 1984 and 1986. JOSEPH J. DIOGUARDI, 52, a certified public accountant and a former partner of Arthur Andersen and Company. Served two terms in Congress. Besides the Republican line, Mr. DioGuardi has the Conservative and Right to Life designations. The District

Snaking through central Queens, parts of the Bronx and southern Westchester County, 43 percent of the voters in the 18th Congressional District are registered as Democrats and 32 percent as Republicans. The Issues

The race, a classic battle between a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican, has been portrayed by some as one of the sharpest ideological conflicts anywhere in the country this year.

Mrs. Lowey has described her opponent as a "far-right, radical, former failed member of Congress" and said that his stance against abortion made abortion rights "a defining issue" in the race.

Mr. DioGuardi portrayed Mrs. Lowey as a "100 percent certified public liberal," who has been anti-business and weak in her support of Israel. Analysis

In the final days, the campaign, which had been marked throughout by harsh attacks by both candidates, became extremely bitter with each side accusing the other of ethics and campaign-finance violations. Although Mr. DioGuardi has said he doesn't expect Mrs. Lowey to benefit from the Democrats' enrollment edge, new lines for the district have brought in areas of the Bronx and Queens that traditionally have heavy Democratic turnouts. New York State Senate

The elections for the 61 seats in the New York State Senate, where Republicans have been in the majority for the last 27 years, are marked by two overarching questions: Will the Democrats pick up the five seats they need to take control of the chamber? And even if they fail, will Ralph J. Marino, the majority leader and most powerful Republican in state government, be returning to Albany?

The odds would appear to favor the Republicans in each case, in part because they controlled the Senate redistricting this year and in part because the G.O.P. is way ahead in fund raising for the Senate races. But in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 3 to 2 and where the Presidential ticket may draw a huge Democratic turnout, the sheer force of numbers could yield some upsets.

Mr. Marino is locked in a tough race in his Nassau-Suffolk district with James F. Gaughran, a Democrat whose campaign has been aided by a fierce anti-Marino advertising blitz by a conservative anti-tax group. Mr. Marino has poured money and campaign workers into the race, and his party holds a clear edge in registration in the district. But the race is still considered up in the air, in part because a large turnout for the Clinton-Gore ticket could give Mr. Gaughran a major boost.

Another race that could be especially close is in Queens, where redistricting has pitted two popular incumbents, Jeremy S. Weinstein, a Democrat, and Frank Padavan, a Republican, against each other, .

The Democrats are concentrating on several other districts where they say their challengers have a real shot at unseating Republican incumbents. Among the major challenges to Republican incumbents in the metropolitan region are:

-- District 6, Nassau County, where the incumbent, Kemp Hannon, is running against Barbara I. Amster, the Democratic challenger, a college professor.

-- District 38, Rockland and Orange counties, where Senator Joseph R. Holland is running against Diana Hess, a former utility executive. The Ballot Question Proposal 1: The Jobs for the New New York Bond Act

Voters in New York State will be asked whether they want to support the proposed jobs bond act, under which the state would borrow $800 million to invest in infrastructure projects like roads and sewer hookups, to create jobs and to attract businesses to the state. Analysis

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo says the proposal would create more than 35,000 immediate jobs, mostly in construction, and result in 122,000 permanent ones when businesses were attracted to the state. His administration has released a list of more than 350 projects around the state that would be eligible for funding if the bond act passed.

Opponents of the plan say that with the state already carrying $24 billion in tax-supported debt, it can ill afford to take on $1.7 billion more (the cost of the bond issue plus interest). And they question its usefulness in creating long-term jobs.